• 11/30/2023

Wedding Guest Book Alternatives For Every Type of Wedding

Sign on a table with the words, 'please sing our guest book'

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Wedding guest books have always been a classic wedding tradition and over the years, people have come up with different ways to remember their special day and all who celebrated with them. While books are a great way to record your guests’s attendance, you can switch it up and do something that matches your interests and feels true to who you are as a couple. Here are some wedding guest book alternatives, divided by the number of guests and type of wedding you choose. 

Elopement or Minimony  

An elopement usually has 25 people at most. Although it’s small in numbers, it is big in the love of sharing a special moment with close friends and family in celebration of a union. It might be a destination celebration at a stunning location, or an intimate ceremony and dinner in a garden. Whichever you choose, the wedding guest book is sure to be full of heartfelt messages and well wishes from the ones you love the most. 

Heart Painting

This is an empty canvas where people can draw or paint hearts to express their love and support for the couple visually. You can put it in your home as artwork to celebrate and remember the special moments you shared with everyone. People can draw the hearts anonymously or sign their names under the hearts. You’ll see some expressive and unique designs as people put their own versions of hearts. 

Time Capsule. 

Since everyone attending your wedding has a close bond with yo or your partner, have people bring special items or letters to place in a box or glass jar to create a time capsule. You can open this on your first anniversary or fifth, it’s up to you. It’s a great way to remember your special day and memorialize their attendance. 

Telephone guest book 

This wedding guest book alternative will be a memorable and unique experience for all involved. You can get retro telephone recorders on Amazon or find a vendor who sells or rents them out. 

If you want to lift the receiver to listen to the special messages, rather buy one. Your guests record a special voice message after the tone then put the receiver on the cradle to store the recording. 

Micro Wedding 

A Micro wedding is a full-on ceremony and reception with a small guest list of about 50 people. It allows you to spend time with your guests and celebrate the special moment that is your big day!

Postcards in a Mailbox

Love traveling? Or are you getting married at a unique destination, perhaps on a snowy mountain or exquisite beach? For your wedding guest book, you can put a display of postcards from your destination and have guests write notes and put it in a mailbox. You can customize the mailbox in you wedding colors or with your couple monogram* 

Personalized Jenga 

This is a simple wedding guest book alternative. Since Jenga contains 54 pieces, it’s the perfect fit for a wedding guest book alternative at a micro wedding. Buy a box of Jenga and have people sign their names or write short messages on the pieces. Every time you play, you can read sweet messages and remember your special day. 

Art wedding guest book 

Get a live wedding painter to paint a special moment between you and your love in the middle of a big canvas. They should leave just enough space for your guests to sign or write small notes. You can hang this in your new home together as a reminder of your wonderful wedding day. 

Small Wedding 

If you have anything from 50 to 100 guests, it’s considered a small wedding. It work the same way larger weddings do with RSVPs, dress codes and a full ceremony or reception. 

Scrapbook

Instead of lined paper in your guestbook, keep the pages plain and turn it into a scrapbook. You can give guests a polaroid camera, and have them takes pictures of themselves and stick them in the book with tape or cute wedding stickers. They can also sign with their names or write notes if they wish to leave a message to honor your union. 

Fingerprint Tree

For this wedding guest book alternative, you draw a tree with branches that correspond with the number of guests. Each guest will use a dip pad with colors of your choice to put their fingerprints on the branches to add leaves to the tree. They will then sign their name over or under their leaf to document their attendance. 

Puzzle

Get a 100 piece empty jigsaw puzzle for guests to sign their names and draw doodles or hearts to record their attendance to your wedding. You can frame the puzzle or keep the pieces ina box and pull them out when you want to remember your special day. 

Medium or Large Wedding 

Medium weddings generally have over 100 but less than 300 guests while large weddings have 300 and more. You can use these ideas for both. 

Love Tree

If you’re a DIY bride, you will love this wedding guestbook alternative. The idea is to have a tree with leaves made out of hearts. Guests can either write their names or sign with their signatures. You can use the final product as an interactive artwork to remember your special guests. 

Video Booth 

This works like a photo booth, except guests can record video messages or sing a love song to you from a karaoke machine. Add some wedding or love-themed props for guests to enjoy while they give you their best wishes.  While this idea works for any kind of ceremony, imagine how special it will be to have 200 to 300 messages from friends and family wishing you well in your union. You can get all the videos put together or cropped and edited into your wedding video for a meaningful film you can watch on your anniversary. 

Create A Unique and Memorable Wedding Guest Book 

This list shows how you can record your guest’s attendance at your wedding. You can make it your own and incorporate your hobbies or interests, like getting people to sign a globe or surfboards. Make it your own! The point is to create a guest book to remember your special day how you want to. Whether you want an art piece or Jenga, these wedding guest book alternatives will help you remember the special moments for the years to come. 

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